Bottle cap or the like



Aug. 29, 1939. Q Q WEBB 2,171g015 BOTTLE CAP QRT'HE; LIKE Filed Jan.29', 193s Patented Aug. I

UNITED STATES PATENT oF'FlcE BOTTlE CAP 03 THE LIKE .Charles C. Webb,Wheeling, W. Va., assignor to Wheeling Stamping Company, Wheeling, W.Va., a corporation of West Virginia Application January 29, 1936, SerialNo. 61,342

2 claims. (Cl. 21543) This invention relates to a cap for use onbotgeneral use of plastic caps for this particular purtles and likecontainers and is particularly applipose is encountered in the cost ofmolding these cable to a cap made from a plastic substance, such capswith an internal thread as compared with as Bakelite" or other syntheticresin. the lesser cost of manufacturing a sheet metal 5- Many types ofcontainers, particularly bottles, cap. 5 are provided with a seal whichforms the primary According to the present invention, a closure isclosure for the receptacle during the period of provided which isadapted for use on standard storage and transit until thereceptacle-reaches threaded bottlesand similar containers without theultimate consumer and is opened by him. any alteration or change in thebottle or the' Over this primary seal, there is a cap often thread ofthe bottle or which may be used on con- 10 referred to as a dust cap,which is intended for e s having Specially formed heeks- At the use onthe receptacle after the primary seal has same time, the wall thicknessof the cap s su h been removed. A typical example of such a cont t t oot present a ul apn a an at the tainer is a catsup bottle wherein a,cup-like cap is top of the bottle and the amount of material is providedfor closing the end of the bottle after the q ir f r its manufacture issuch that it can be permanent seal has been once removed. As here-'manufactured as p y cheaper than iithe- .tofore cohstructed, these capshave been formed graphed sheet metal n. r v the present of sheet metalattractively enameled. The neck invention provides a p "wh h d notrequire of the bottle is threaded and the sheet metal cap he u e Onternal threads but which, neverthehas a thread rolled into it whichfltsthe thread on less, is constructed to p ra e with the threads 20 thebottle. The thread is of a coarse pitch so 011 h neck of a o l Thedesign a that a single turn of the cap sufiices to screw it onstllletion 0f the p, morebver. s u h t at. under tightly. normalconditions of use, the splitting of the cap Various attempts have beenmade to provide when it issorewed n w not rv plastic caps to replace thesheet metal caps now According to the P e ti the plastic 25 commonlyused. Plastic caps are desirable bep is ed in the o f a D having areiscause of the more attractive appearance which v y thin wall but av adiameter slightly they present; because they are not attacked'by greaterthan the maximum outside diameter of the contents of the bottle so thatthey do not n p r n of the n k f the bo tle e v p y g become corroded ordiscolored and because of the the cap. Formed on the nte Of this e pthere 30 7 ready manner in which embossed decorations, are one orseveral ut preferably two small D trade-marks, etc. can be provided inthe plastic :i tio these project p ef r bly being material. Heretofore,however, there have been metrice-ilyfipposite c Othery D J'eCt a severaldifliculties encountered in the provision of enough wa d y w d theCenter Of the l to as a plastic cap in the nature or adust cap to take ae thetnr d o ot r abutment on the neck 7 as the place oi the sheet metalcaps now commonly 0f the bottle When the p is pp e o t e bottleprovided.A major difliculty has been that, if the As h n is t h e proj ns will ena e walls of the cap are made thin enough so as not to the thread thebottle if e bottle has a make the top of the bottle look bulky and areprothreaded neck d cause the p to e screwed 40 vided with an interiorthread to engage the threaddown as the D is h the p is 40 on the neck ofthe bottle, the cap will very easily s down as tightly as it will g0. yfurther split when it is screwed down tightly. Users freturning of the pWill cause these projections to quently try t screw th cap on tightlyand t ride up over the thread. Since the cap has rela- Bakelite? orother plastic material splits readily tively thin Wells and since it hasdiameter under the expansive force exerted under these slightlygreaterthen the Outside diameter of the 45 conditions. Moreover, a capwhich is made heavy thread, it s free at this time to assume eenough toresist splitting contains so much Bake- What elliptical form; the twobutton-like P -l lite" or other plastic material that it cannot be tionsbeing on the major a s f the l ips while sold in competition with thevery thin sheet metal he P t ons of th p at 0 y from the caps nowgenerallyused. It has been proposed to tons are drawn against the sidesof the threads, 50 use some other type of connection than a thread thetwo points diametrically opposite each other between the cap, and thebottle, but this 'n'ecessiand 90 from the projections being at the minortates a change in the bottle molds and the users or axis of the ellipse.As a matter of fact, the cap bottles are unwilling to assume the expenseof may be forced vertically down without turning.

5g; making the change. A further objection to the If the bottle has anannular ridge or enlargement,

thereover.

The invention may be more fully understood by reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which;

Figure 1 shows a portion of a standard container in elevation, the capembodying the present invention being shown applied thereto, the capbeing in section;

Figure 2 represents a transverse section on the plane of line IIII QfFigure 1, the view being on a larger scale than Figure 1 and showing thecontour of the cap during the normal engagement of the projections withthe thread of the bottle;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the cap distorted tothe elliptical form which it assumes at the moment when the projectionsare riding over the tops of the threads; and,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing a modification whereinthere is a single internal projection.

In the drawing, the reference numeral 2 designates a receptacle, such,for instance, as a catsup bottle, having an enlargement or abutment suchas a thread or the neck 3 thereof, the abutment or thread on the neckbeing designated l. While I have specifically illustrated a bottlehaving a thread, it will be understood that this is for purposes ofillustration and that instead of a thread, the bottle might have anannular enlargement or bead in lieu of a thread. Threaded bottles beingnow generally used, the invention will be specifically described inconnection with such I bottles. Below the threaded portion of the neckand a side portion 5b. The cap 8 is formed of neck of the bottle.

molded material of a frangible. nature, such as "Bakelite, hard rubber,or similar composition material. The walls thereof are relatively thin,being sufliciently thin to'have a slight degree of flexibility under theconditions hereinafter described. It will be seen from Figure 1 that thethickness of the-walls is such that the outside diameter of the cap is alittle larger than the outside diameter of the bead 5, so that the capdoes not present a bulky or unwieldy appearance at the top of thereceptacle.

The inside diameter of the capis, as shown in Figure 2, slightly largerthan the outside diameter of the thread or other abutment 4 on the Asshown in Figure 2, the inner surface of the walls 61) of the cap areprovided with inwardly projecting buttons or lugs I and 8. These buttonsor lugs being diametrically opposite and being located a predetermineddistance above the lowermost edge of the cap, project inwardly towardthe center of the cap far enough so as to cooperate with the thread 4,but they preferably do not extend into the full depth of the thread.

It-will be readily seen that when the cap is applied to the neck of thebottle, it will drop down until the buttons or lugs engage the thread.Then, the cap may be turned and, when it is turned, it will screw downjust as though it had internal threads. If, however, the turning of thecap is forced after the top portion 6a. engages the end of the bottle orafter the lower edge of the capengages the head so that the cap cannotscrew down further, the buttons 'I and 8 willmerely' tend to ride up onthe threads intern 1 projection ll.

projection ii is forced over the thread, t e cap rather than a threadthe projections will snap' the thread 4. the cap would, undr theseconditions, split. However, by reason of the cap having an internaldiameter slightly greater than the maximum exterior diameter of thethread, this splitting does not occur. This may be readily understood byreference to Figure 3 where skirt are forced outwardly by theprojections riding up on the thread or other enlargement on the bottleneck, the intervening-portions of the cap are drawn inwardly, the pointsb having the greatest radial movement inward. The cap thus assumes anelliptical form with a line through aa as the major axis of the ellipseand with a line through bb being the shorter or minor axis of theellipse. As soon as theprojections ride over the highest part of thethread, the inherent resilience of the cap causes it immediately tore-assume a circular form.

By reason of this construction, I am enabled to provide a plastic capwherein thin walls are used and wherein thin walls are a desirableattribute. The cost of manufacturing the caps is extremely low becauseof the relatively small amount of material required and because of thefact that the molds do not have to be provided with internal threads.The plastic caps can,

therefore, be snapped from the forming molds instead of being unscrewed,as is the case with Bakelite caps having thicker walls and havinginternal threads. As a matter of fact, the cap provided by the presentinvention does not have to be screwed onto the bottle. It can be merelyplaced on the top of the bottle and then pressed. As it is pressed, thebuttons or projections 'l and 8 will snap over the threads just as theydo when the cap is forced after it has been screwed down. It is byreason of this arrangement that the cap may be used where the bottle hasan enlargement or head rather than a thread. While I have shown the capas having a perfectly plain ylindrical contour, it is obvious that itmay be or trade designations as the particular user may desire. j

While two internal projections l and 8 are preferable for most cases,there may be on some caps, particularly those of exceptionally largediameter, more than two internal projections. Moreover, instead of therebeing a plurality of internal projections, there. may be but a singleinternal pro jection. This is illustrated in Figure 4 where the cap deignated as i0 is providedwith a single In this case, whe the not onlytakes the form of an ellipse, as described molded with various devicesfor ornamentationv in connection with Figure 3, but it is also drawnthread in orderto allow the cap to assume this slightly eliptical form.

The cap as provided by the present invention presents several advantagesover a thread cap. In the firstplace, being free of internal. threads,

there are no surfaces which can not be easilycleaned. If the cap is usedon a bottle containing liquor, or other-fluid where the cap may be usedas a measure or cup, the absence of threads to catch and retain theliquid is animportant advantage. This is also true where the cap is usedon a bottle containing. salt, as for instance, a

.jbath salt, and the cap used as a measure. The

threads now generally provided catch and hold the contents poured intothe cap.

While I have illustrated and described. certain particular embodimentsof my invention, it will be understood that the invention is not limitedto these embodiments and may be-variously modified and that it isapplicable to containers of a char-v acter and shape diflerent from theparticular form illustrated.

l claim:

l. The combination with a receptacle having a threaded end portion, of afrangible plastic cap engaged oversaid threaded end, said cap having aninternal diameter greater than the maximum exterior diameter of thethreaded portion of the receptacle and having a plurality of inwardlyextending button-like projections on the inner wall thereof cooperatingwith the thread of the receptacle, the, length or the projections andthe in- 0 ternal diameter 02 the cap being so related as to 3 enable theprojections to be forced over top of the thread by allowing portions oithe side walls of the cap intermediate the projections to yield radiallyinwardly suiflciently to allow said-projections to snap over the threadswithout rupturing the cap, two of said projections being at di- 4 'withthe thread, the internal diameter of the cap and the thickness of thewalls thereof being such as to permit theprojection to move rallyoutward and snap over the thread to prevent the cap from splittingwhenit is screwed down tightly on the thread.

